How a gravestone conservator is helping preserve a historic Jewish cemetery in Pennsylvania and honoring its history
GLADWYNE, Pa. (CBS) — The Har Hasetim in Gladwyne was founded by several Jewish burial societies in the 1890s and had its last burial in 1945. Now, people are working to conserve the cemetery and honor those buried there.
"I view Har Hasetim as a tangible representation of the sacrifices and the trials and tribulations that the first wave of eastern European Jews faced as they left their homes to escape persecution to start life anew in a far-off strange land," Neil Sukonik, president of the Friends of Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery, said.
"The cemetery represents a generation of Jewish people that took a huge chance," Sukonik said. "And, that chance has enabled so many of us in subsequent generations to enjoy the freedom of, and to thrive in America."
The cemetery was without care prior to the Beth David Reform Congregation taking over ownership in 1999, and it is now a historic landmark in Lower Merion.
Since 2017, gravestone conservator Joe Ferrannini has come to the sacred ground twice a year in spring and fall to uncover the names on the gravestones of an estimated 900 first-generation Jewish European immigrants.
"We're not restoring; we are conserving and trying to make them last forever," Ferrannini said. "Some of these names, if they laid down on the ground much longer, would be totally gone."
The Friends of Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery was formed to ensure dignity for those interred at Har Hasetim and their families while honoring the historical, cultural and natural significance of the site.
"The essence of the project really has been for a dozen years," Sukonik said. "The ultimate and most important goal is to restore dignity to those who are interred here."
For Ferrannini it is an honor to restore these graves.
"This is such meaningful work. If not for the efforts of restoring these graves, the memories of these people would be otherwise lost," he said.
The goal is to transform the cemetery into a historical nature park, a place to study and find sanctuary. Tours are available by appointment by contacting Jill Cooper at 610-896-7485, x104 or jcooper@bdavid.org.